Ecology and Environmental Change Bielefeld University

All classes are taught in English, and international applicants are very welcome! German skills are not required, but free German classes are offered for students at Bielefeld University.

Ecosystems are currently facing multiple challenges such as climate change, land use, pollution, etc. Students will learn the necessary skills to understand the various responses of organisms to their rapidly changing environments.

Our Master's programme brings together the following different fields of ecology:

• Animal and plant ecology
• Behavioural ecology
• Chemical ecology
• Conservation ecology
• Theoretical evolutionary ecology

In these contexts, we explore how individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems respond and adapt to environmental change.

Over the course of the Master's programme, students learn to do the following:

• design and conduct laboratory and field experiments
• acquire chemical-analytical methods
• build eco-evolutionary models
• strengthen their statistical analysis and scientific communication skills

For this course, we expect previous knowledge in both biology and ecology.

We teach all classes in English, and international applicants are very welcome! German skills are not required, but we offer free German classes for students at Bielefeld University.

15 July for the following winter semester

In the first year, students take the following classes:

• The ecosystem of Wadden Sea (with excursion)
• Environmental change and chemical communication
• Models in conservation biology
• Animal ecology in a changing world
• Effects of environmental change on plant chemistry
• Plant ecology in a changing environment
• Nature conservation and environmental protection (with an excursion)

The second year consists of individual research modules and the Master's thesis.

No tuition fees

Since Bielefeld University does not charge tuition fees, every student only has to pay a social fee. The social fee includes the contribution to the social ticket for free public transport in the city and area of Bielefeld and on regional trains and buses in North-Rhine Westphalia for the whole semester.

The current semester contribution is approximately 300 EUR.

Costs for studying in Germany are relatively high due to the living expenses.

• Rent in a room in student halls of residence or a private student hall, in a room or flat comes to approx. 280 EUR per month.
• The expected costs for student health insurance and other medical fees are about 120 EUR per month.
• Depending on your lifestyle, you might spend about 150 EUR on food each month.
• Altogether, monthly costs for food, clothes, leisure activities, social fees, travel expenses, telephone bills, and the other mentioned expenses add up to approx. 850 EUR.

There are several ways of cutting expenses in Bielefeld. For example, it is possible to rent a room in a student residence for about 250 EUR, and a meal at the student canteen (Mensa) costs only about 3 EUR.

Bachelor's degree in Biology or Environmental Sciences or at least 60 credit points in biology, thereof 20 credit points in ecology

English language skills, level B2 (minimum)

If you have a high school or university diploma from an English-speaking institution, this is automatically fulfilled (please provide certificate). Otherwise, please provide an English language certificate recognised by German universities (TOEFL, telc, IELTS, Unicert, or Cambridge Certificate).

15 July for the following winter semester

No

Basically, with your residence permit (stamp in your passport), you will receive a work permit for 120 work days per year. This allows you to work 120 full days (eight hours per day) or 240 half days (up to four hours per day). This condition must be noted expressly in the passport by the authorities.

Please try to secure accommodation in Bielefeld as early as possible. In Bielefeld, a broad range of accommodation options can be found at affordable prices. Students residences are run by the public "Studierendenwerk" or private organisations, and shared flats are very common.

Offers of accommodation can be found online by following the links below:

• Studierendenwerk Bielefeld (dormitories)
• WG-gesucht.de (private shared accommodation)

The International Office supports students who are searching for accommodation.

Career planning is a step-by-step development and clarification process that requires individual strategies. Based on a strengths- and resource-oriented approach, we support you in developing your own career prospects.

Depending on your needs, our Career Service at Bielefeld University will accompany you throughout the entire process or in individual steps.

https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/themen/career-service

At PunktUm, our German Learning Centre, we offer a comprehensive range of academic support programmes that are designed to meet the needs of international members of the Bielefeld University. These include the Academic Mentoring Programme for Master's students, the Peer Mentoring Programme for Bachelor's students, and semester-long workshops designed to help all students and researchers with academic writing. We also offer individual consultations on academic writing in German as a Foreign Language (DaF) or German as a Second Language (DaZ).

The International Office provides an orientation programme for all international members of Bielefeld University, including degree seekers (BA and MA), double degree students, Erasmus/cooperation students, doctoral students, scholars, interns, and refugees/preparing applicants. Example of activities include Café International, campus tour, introductions to digital services and administrative procedures.